263 



POUTING PIGEONS. 



the attention of pigeon-lovers to this beautiful bird, at that time 

 not known anywhere beyond Fore-Pomerania. I must remark, 

 that only my great love for this race of pigeons induced me 

 to undertake investigations into its descent, development, and 

 relations, and to communicate the result here, in the hope of 

 giving others breeders a motive, through my views, to consider 

 this circumstance, to make known their views, and to treat 

 this subject further in our club, in order that we may be in 

 a position to breed our beautiful Cropper in such quantity and 

 quality that it may equal the English and French breed in 

 beauty. I am persuaded that this is very easily practicable, 

 provided we have the understanding and will necessary for it. 

 To perfect the first, and to aim at the latter, is the plan of 

 my lecture." 



He then goes on to describe the peculiarity of all Cropper 

 Pigeons, and argues that the distension of their crops must have 

 proceeded from long, careful, selective breeding in domesticity, 

 because such pigeons could not naturally exist, as they could 

 never hold their own in a state of Nature. Assuming that 

 Croppers, as well as all other races, are derived from the 

 Blue Rock Pigeon, he does not think that all the kinds of 

 Croppers are necessarily derived from one original race, but 

 that they might have originated from parallel running lines; 

 or, in other words, that the distension of crop in pigeons may 

 have been noticed in different countries and times, and in- 

 dependent races established from them. He does not, however, 

 mean to try to prove which races may be considered originals, 

 but only to express his opinion on the relationship and origin 

 of the Pomeranian and English breeds, as the clearing up of 

 this relationship is necessary for the rational breeding of the 

 former. He evidently did not know that it is on record how 

 our English Pouter was produced, which would have materially 

 assisted him in his investigations. He proceeds: 



" As I suppose that, to all who are interested in our Cropper, 

 the marks of both races are known, I will omit an exact 



